Café
by RedScarfedSoldier
Summary: Rivamika Week - Day 5 - Violets (Mikasa's Birth Flower) - Sincerity - Preserving honesty in conversation or written form.


A/N: I don't even know anymore. I made Armin a street in this, and that may be an indication of my sanity. These are getting progressively harder for me to complete, I hope I can finish them all, haha.

* * *

_Monday_

__Busy crowded streets, traffic, loud noises and public transportation were all less than pleasant things to Mikasa Ackerman, but she had landed a new accounting job right in the middle of downtown Sina, so here she was.

It was only 7:30 AM, but she had already nearly tripped over a careless businessman running past her, missed the subway, gotten lost, and to top it all off, she had forgotten her coffee, and was already feeling the effects of the latter. She had gotten no more than four hours sleep after spending the majority of the night preparing for her first day on the job, and was beginning to think it would have been a better idea to be less prepared and more awake.

She turned at the corner of Arlert Avenue and her new workplace came into view, but her eyes immediately moved to the building beside it. _Maybe I can get some coffee after all._

She opened the glass door and walked inside. It was a fairly small café with only a few tables and a rather interesting menu, but it was charming in its own way. She turned to face the counter and was greeted by a short man with a black undercut and a cold stare, dressed in a brown apron, impatiently tapping his fingers against the wooden surface.

''So, are you going to order something or are you going to just stand there and stare at me?''

His deep voice knocked her out of whatever previous thoughts she was having. _Staring? _Had she been staring at him this entire time? Feeling her cheeks begin to flush, she suddenly felt defensive.

''What are you talking about? I wasn't staring. I'll take a regular coffee.'' She narrowed her eyes at the man, who was now smirking at her as he began to pour the coffee into a cup decorated with what appeared to be a set of white and blue wings.

''What do you take in your coffee?''

''I'll have it black.'' She normally took three milk and four sugar in her coffee, but today, she needed it as strong as it could be.

The man raised an eyebrow at her, as if he had actually been surprised at her request.

''What? Never had a customer who takes their coffee black?''

''No, you just didn't seem like the type who would, that's all.'' He wasn't entirely wrong, and she didn't know if she should take that as a compliment or an insult. She was a rather serious, hardworking person but she also had a rather serious sweet tooth, on most days, that is.

''A kid like you wouldn't understand, anyway.'' She was running out of time, and even though she only had to go next door, she didn't want to spend anymore time talking with a stranger about how she took her coffee.

''Excuse me? I'm 24. Here, take your damn coffee.'' He scoffed, in a way that made her wonder how often he was mistaken for a kid.

''Could have fooled me, with your height.'' She teased, enjoying his reaction more than she would like to admit, and took her coffee. ''Thanks.''

As she made her way to the door she heard the faint sound of a ''Tch.'' from behind her, and smiled slightly at her small victory, but that smile faded as she exit the shop and brought her drink up to her mouth, noticing the three words written neatly on her cup in black marker. **_You were staring. _**_That irksome shorty…_

* * *

___Tuesday_

Mikasa made sure she was well rested this morning. Her first day on the job had been a lot easier than she imagined it would be, and that significantly decreased the stress she had been feeling lately. She caught the subway on time and that had made her about a half an hour early, but today she had decided to revisit that same café instead of bringing her own coffee.

She was greeted by the same familiar face, but this time when he saw her his expression transitioned into yet another smirk, as if he knew she would be back, and knew she had received his previous message.

''Morning.'' She nodded towards him, determined to act like the events of yesterday didn't happen.

''Same thing?''

''No. Three milk, four sugar.'' She decided to go with her regular order today, she wouldn't really be needing any caffeine until around her lunch break, but she always had a morning coffee anyway, as a sort of routine.

''So I was right, then. You aren't really the type to take your coffee black.'' He looked a little too proud, and she wanted wipe that smirk right off his face, but for some reason she couldn't think of anything to say to him. She rolled her eyes and told herself that tonight she would think of a way to get under his skin too. _Wait, why am I treating this like a routine? It's been two days._

As he made her coffee, they exchanged casual small talk about the weather and last night's game, and she had found out his name was Levi. __

She grabbed her cup and thanked him, making sure to wait until she was outside to check if he had written anything.

She lightly smiled as she looked at her cup and realized she wasn't the only one to think of this as a routine already.

**_See you tomorrow._**

* * *

_Wednesday_

She arrived at the same time as yesterday, but this time, instead of getting to her job early, she decided to order a raspberry filled pastry and stay behind to chat for a little while. She discovered that they shared the same love for martial arts, writing, and had the same opinions on celebrity gossip; it was stupid.

She ordered her coffee on the way out, set on keeping their new routine the same, and didn't check the cup until she was out of sight.

**_Have a good day, Mikasa. _**

* * *

_Thursday_

When she opened the door to the café and saw a much taller figure, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. _Is it his day off?_ She walked over to the counter and was greeted by a woman with glasses and brown hair tied up into a ponytail.

''How can I help you?'' She asked cheerfully. _A little too cheerfully._

She ordered her regular coffee, deciding not to get anything else. _I'll just head to work early._

But as she watched the girl make her coffee, she couldn't help but be a little curious. After a moment, she hesitantly asked the question that had been on her mind since she walked in today. ''So…Where's Levi?''

The woman looked up at her, surprised, and then began to grin.

''Ah, you must be Mikasa! He's off sick today, called in this morning. He mentioned you might come by. ''

''He did?'' She was a bit surprised, but for some reason it made her happy knowing he thought of her, and she didn't really know why.

''I always knew he had good taste in women!''

''It's not like that.'' She turned away slightly, embarrassed at the misunderstanding from the woman in front of her.

''Of course it isn't!'' She exclaimed, shoving the cup of coffee into Mikasa's hands, almost spilling it.

As she left she looked at her cup and was greeted with no message. _It isn't, right?_

* * *

___Friday_

She didn't bother coming early today, figuring Levi would probably still be sick, and not wanting to have to sit in her office longer than she had to, but when she opened the door to the café she was pleasantly surprised to see him leaning against the counter, wearing his usual bored expression, which changed into his signature smirk when he saw her. _Damn him._

''Don't tell me you were disappointed I wasn't here yesterday?''

''Not in a million years. Don't tell me you spent all day yesterday wondering if I was?'' She returned his smirk as she watched him get started on her regular coffee.

''Not in a million years.''

He handed it to her and she turned to leave.

''Wait, Mikasa, read it now.''

She looked down at the cup and her eyes widened. Turning around she flashed him a small smile and a nod before continuing out the door.

**_I might have. Dinner tonight? xxx-xxx-xxxx _**


End file.
